As the year draws to a close, Camden College is inundated with parties attended by misfits, conformists, and everything in between.
Every writer’s torturing question is, how do I start the story? Writer/director Roger Avary, based on Brett Easton Ellis’ novel, starts from the end, the final party, to introduce the key players of his story. Meticulously made non-linear montages by the amazing Sharon Rutter reveal what will happen to Sean, Paul, Lauren, Lara, Victor, and Kelly, only to rewind days before whatever happened and introduce them properly again by showing who they were before that last party.
Every film sequence is important to the narrative’s development and is extremely well-constructed. There is something cinematically new and refreshing throughout every sequence. The back-and-forth ending, the visit to the drug dealer’s house, the junkie with the trombone, the edge of the world party, the Lauren/Sean encounter, the Sean/Paul encounter, the Sean/Dick and their moms encounter, the dressed to get screwed party, the suicide, Victor in Europe, and, finally, the very ending, are but a few of the sequences that will make you laugh as much as they will intrigue you. It might not mean much now reading their names, but watching them is a cinematic experience you will not forget.
Here are a few interesting details about the film.
- Brett Easton Ellis is also the author of ‘American Psycho’, and Sean Bateman is the younger brother of psychopath Patrick Bateman – when you see Sean’s look, you’ll get how psychopathy runs in the family.
- The late George Michael gave Avary his song “Faith” for free when he found out they couldn’t afford it.
- “The End of the World” sequence was filmed on 11 September 2001. 🙁
- In the Sean/Dick sequence, the singing and dancing were completely improvised.
Shocking that so many people still haven’t even heard of it! Avary characterised his film as “the assassination of teen comedies.” To their shame, numerous people walked out of the test screening shouting “fag film”. They missed what the narrative is about, why the characters are who they are, and didn’t stay till the very end to see what they came to be. There are amazing small details in the film that make it unique. There is a sign on Victor’s door for everyone to see, reading: “Victor, tests came back positive. Be careful.”, and still everyone wants to sleep with him, and he still hasn’t put it down. Notice how purposefully disjoined the film is in parts, and ask yourself why. Pay attention to the snowflake that lands on Sean’s eye-corner and think of what it may mean. The Rules of Attraction neither provides any answers nor does it become too big for its own boots. It merely emphasises change and transformation by distinguishing reality from dreams, the only way life teaches us: the hard way. According to Avary, he believes that the critics responded negatively to his film because they saw it as “bad fiction”. He begs to differ, saying that he believes that “[…] It isn’t. It’s a reality that nobody talks about.”
Regardless of who really made it as an actor/actress/producer after that, James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel, Kip Pardue, Kate Bosworth, Ian Somerhalder, and Jay Baruchel give their 100% to the roles they were given, and I take my hat off them! Clifton Collins Jr., Eric Stoltz, and, of course, the one and only Faye Dunaway were and are incredible to this very day.
The exploration of the human mind through voiceovers, monologues, dialogues, and generally the provocative inner conflict belongs to a series of films I’m currently revisiting and reviewing. I believe that has gone largely under the radar. If that one sounds like your cup of tea, you should definitely visit or revisit Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), and Ruby Sparks (2012). More to follow!
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Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!
Stay safe!
This is not my usual type of film but you have made it that interesting I will have to give it a go.